A breakdown in telephone communication led to an offer being
made to Barcelona, which was swiftly rejected
Manchester City once made a £30million bid for Argentine
superstar Lionel Messi – by accident!
A breakdown in communication between club officials on the day
that Sheikh Mansour completed his £210m takeover of the club in
August 2009 was behind the sensational offer to Barcelona for the
best player in the world.
Barcelona rejected the proposal – and within hours the Blues had
agreed the £32m capture of Brazilian star Robinho from Real
Madrid.
The extraordinary episode has been revealed in a new book
detailing the history of the Premier League champions.
Former chief executive Garry Cook told the tale in a new
book ‘it’s all getting messy.’ somehow translated into ‘get
Messi.’
Former City chief executive Garry Cook details the
mix-up in ‘The Manchester City Years’ by Gary James.
City had made already made a failed bid for Fernando Torres and
had attempted to hijack Manchester United’s deal with Spurs for
Dimitar Berbatov.
But senior club officials based in Manchester, London and Abu
Dhabi were formulating Sheikh Mansour’s plans by telephone.
And Cook explains: “He (an executive) made a comment like ‘it’s
all getting messy.’
“Via the telephones and other communication lines, this somehow
translated into ‘get Messi.’
“An offer was made for Lionel Messi of about £30million.
Needless to say, it was rejected.”